Questions about palm oil!

Does anybody know anything about palm oil? It's found in a lot of African dishes, and I've got a small container of it and use it to great effect in a number of recipes, but what is the proper way to use it - heat it first, or throw it in the stew mid-way through? What is the burn point? When I heat it in an empty pan, it starts to smoke in seconds, as if it's about to catch fire. Is this normal? How can you tell the quality of it? Is it even safe to use? It looks like it was made in somebody's back yard in Ghana.

Any information would be really appreciated, and if you haven't any experience with it, I encourage you to check it out (provided we find out it's safe to use and won't burn your house down, of course). It's delicious!

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